If I said I wasn’t drawn to this based on the title alone I‘d be telling fibs, I absolutely was, and whilst we all know virgins in romance aren’t exactly a rarity, virgins like Freddie and Kate and their group of new-found friends are, and they were a delight. A diverse, sweet, awkward delight.

Kate and Freddy, once friends at university, meet again after a few years at an adult virgins self help group. They feel like everyone around them is moving on with their lives, and they feel like something is lacking from theirs.

This is a refreshing romance that tackles taboo topics such as, as the title suggests, adult virgins. We live in a society that is hyper sexualized, many people feel pressure to adapt to society's standards and expectations, and what I enjoyed most about this book was its honesty. Thumbs up for diverse rep too. I will definitely be recommending this novel.

A lighthearted romance that is fun to read. Best enjoyed snuggled up with a throw and a cuppa.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc.

Tackling a ‘ taboo’ subject with humour and respect combined. Adult Virgins Anonymous didn’t disappoint. Whilst it will not remain one of my favourite books ever, or perhaps one of those reads i will recall years down the line, i thoroughly enjoyed Amber Crews writing. Predictable friends to lovers, who meet at a support group for adult virgins, it was stereotypical but it was equally as heartwarming. It covered sensitive topics well, such as OCD and Anxiety, and the different backstories of the other AV group all were well structured. An easy, humorous but still enjoyable read!

This book was not exactly what I thought it would be. I envisioned more of a comedy take by the title and reading the blurb. Instead Adult Virgins Anonymous is a story about two people who approaching their late 20’s decide to do something about their virginity. It is a story centred around themes of society acceptance, stereotypes and stigmatism. In the support group we meet a range of characters, all there for a different reason. One character who is transgender and prefers the pronouns they/them. It is not something I have much experience or knowledge of, so I am not able to comment on how representative this character is, only to say I believe it is important that these themes begin to feature in books and novels to encourage diversity and acceptance within society without focusing on just stereotypes.

Overall I liked the book, it just wasn’t quite the uplift I had been expecting.

I have not yet read this copy of this book yet

My review was for another book on my shelf and I got them mixed up

I would like to take my review back but don’t no how to. Is there anyway it can be deleted? So when I read the book I can review it proper!

So sorry

Thank you

It is hard to not feel good after reading this book, I loved the back and forth conversations of the group, the family dynamic of both characters, the wonderful friendships, and the beautiful awkward moments that got me to roll into intense giggles.

The book is great. I found it a brilliant journey into social stigma and the criticism. Being an adult virgin is something that is very difficult to discuss in public and there isn't enough fiction with characters as real as Kate and Freddie that can be utterly relatable in the downfall of romantic life. Not just them, the whole support group is full of wonderful and interesting characters who can be a person passing you on the street. I definitely felt that it was a cute story and would like to read a sequel if there ever is one. The message of the story for me was that it is never too late to start living your life and have many 'firsts'.

This book had me laughing out loud and cringing in Raquel measure. It’s incredible well written with great a sensitivity, yet incredible insight into crippling anxiety and other mental health issues like OCD and social stigma. I loved the idea behind it and was so emotionally involved with the characters throughout. Willing them on at every stage I really found myself picking it up whenever I had a spare minute to find out if the succeeded with or without the virginity. It raised some great talking points about social and familial expectations and stigma. This would be a brilliant book club read and I would definitely recommend it!

I really loved this book! A quirky modern love story with a difference, Freddie and Kate are so likeable from the start and you are rooting for them to make it work! Such a lovely story to lose yourself in.

When I started this story, I expected to read a light, humorous, and no-brainer story. With a nice romance.
Sure enough, romance is super cute to read.

However, I realized that even though the characters are approaching their 30s, their inexperience with the opposite sex makes them as mature as teenagers. It's fun to read at first but then it gets annoying because they're so busy overthinking and over-analyzing things that they get locked in their heads. In reality, they withdraw into themselves, do not communicate and this leads to misunderstandings which last a little too long for my taste.

Without knowing it, Kate and Freddie met at university. They even crossed paths and noticed each other briefly during the last party given by college, a party they both had high hopes for. Then it was a total fiasco and they moved forward, each on their own. Life went on.

Almost ten years later, they are united again by a secret they are ashamed of and do not share with anyone. Loneliness weighs on them and they feel like less than nothing. It is in these circumstances that they will help each other, unwittingly, to put their minds in order, even if this results in the end of their secret.

They don't know they are falling in love. Indeed, how would they know when they have no point of comparison? How to differentiate the true affection from what is engendered by lust? How do you know when to take the plunge and bare your heart?

By groping through these questions, the heroes show us that sex is ultimately only a factor in any romantic relationship. Of course, it's a very pleasant moment to share but what makes our heart beat is what we feel and make others feel. It is the gaze on ourselves that the other returns to us. It is this feeling of power that we get when we see the other's confidence in us.

From a theme that is not necessarily easy to deal with, Amber Crewe shows us that sometimes you have to take a step back on your life to better appreciate the bigger picture. We can have embarrassing secrets and feel like it rots our lives, but ultimately we ruin our lives on our own by focusing on them.

I did not necessarily laugh and sometimes, I was annoyed by the childishness of the heroes because of their behavior, then finding the story long. However, I appreciated the message conveyed by the story and had a great time. Adult virgins anonymous happens to be a perfect winter tale to read and might be a nice afternoon movie to watch before Christmas.

Kate and Freddie are both adult virgins, and embarrassed about it. Wanting to make changes in their lives they both find themselves at a group for people like them, and finding a connection with each other.

This was a sweet, heartwarming tale. It felt very slice of life, it wasn't about grand gestures and declarations but two sensitive people finding a connection. I do wish there was some more pushback against the concept though. At one point I thought a character was going to go more into the concept of virginity but they don't, which was a little disappointing. Kate and Freddie are embarrassed by their virginity, and although other characters tell them not to be the embarrassment doesn't ever seem to be questioned by them, which I thought was a missed opportunity. Being sex positive also means realising not everyone wants to be having it, or has found someone they want to have sex with, and I wish the author had dug a little deeper on that front. It's an easy, breezy read with some good anxiety and OCD rep, as well as a lot of touching moments for people who experience or have experienced loneliness and feeling isolated.

Publication dare: 21st Jan 2021

Adult Virgins Anonymous follows the lives of Kate and Freddie, two adult virgins, who meet at an Adult Virgins Anonymous group.

Kate currently works at the National Gallery after losing her high flying job, whilst Freddie is at the IT company he's been at since university. Both have their struggles in life but at this moment in time they feel that this may solve a number of their problems.

A number of the topics discussed in this novel are not spoken about enough, well done to Amber Crewe for conveying them so well and making the characters situations relatable.

Mixed feelings about this book sadly. When I first saw it and read the blurb I thought this would be right up my street which is why I chose to read it.
Although I did like how the story unfolded and gained pace eventually, I did find it quite slow going up until around halfway through the book.
I did like the characters in the book, but didn’t feel a strong connection to them, except Freddie, I felt more invested in him than the others.
There are some quite endearing moments in this book that did make me smile, but it sadly didn’t have the comedy factor it promised for me, but still some nice moments at some points throughout the book, and overall, a nice storyline.

A cute love story although I found parts quite long and rambling, not really adding much to the storyline. Was nice that the author covered both straight and gay/lesbian relationships but they didn't really develop so felt a little contrived.

An interesting premise to explore and definitely a topic not often touched on.

Was a quick and easy holiday read.

**Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me advance access in exchange for an honest review.

Two virgins. Freddie and Kate. They feel like the only virgins in the world, like they're the odd ones out. That is until they join the Adult Virgins Anonymous where they meet more people like them. They feel more at ease. They decide to lose their virginities to each other. But does their experiment lead to more?

Enjoyable read. The title definitely drew me in and I was pleasantly surprised with the storyline. The book handles Freddie and Kate's desire to have sex really well. But when we look deeper they really desired companionship. We learn that Freddie has OCD and Kate is anxious, but these two decide to become friends and I was content with their relationship.

Theres moments where I was absolutely frustrated at Kate and Freddie because they know how they feel about each other but absolutely refuse to tell the other. This tension builds immensely during the course of the story. There were times I actually wanted to scream, but this tension Crewe plays with makes the story so much more real to me and showed how I connected with the characters.

My favourite character was definitely Freddie. Seeing him go from anxious, very OCD and quiet to knowing what he wants and being brave is the kind of character development I love! I was very drawn to him as a character. Crewe does an excellent job with Freddie, whereas I didnt feel Kate made as much progress.

One thing I am disappointed with was the description of a Black character as having 'deep black skin'. Being Black myself, I have never been so shocked at such an inaccurate description of our skin tone. I had to google what that even meant. I hope the author revises this and uses a better description for Black skin.

3/5

i didn't love how it changed in the middle of the novel from a contemporary to a romance
but it was still wildly enjoyable, with sympathetic & well rounded characters, an array of interestinf relationships, and the sweetest of romances

4/5 stars

What a great read! Based on feelings of awkwardness but still managing to be funny and entertaining.

Kate's life hasn't quite followed the path she thought it would; approaching thirty, her career plan has imploded, her long term friends are no more and her hopes of marriage and motherhood are just distant memories. After all, if you've never had sex then the rest can't follow on! Freddie is a sensitive soul who has suffered a lot during his twenties and his confidence has taken a real battering because of it. He has become almost reclusive and a relationship with a woman is further away than ever it was. When Kate and Freddie meet up at a group for virgins, they realise that they may just be able to help build each other's confidence enough to introduce them to the world of dating.

Reading this novel reminded me of the teenage years when confidence wasn't my greatest thing (but I did fare better than those two). It's very easy to empathise with both characters; in a world where everyone at least appears to be outgoing, it's hard for those who are shy or have stuff going on in their lives which eats away at what little confidence they have, but this author has her finger on the pulse of these emotions and gets them across clearly. Not only that, she brings in a lightness of tone and a bit of humour making this a really enjoyable read. It's a well-written novel, carefully describing what could be a difficult subject in an easy way. Definitely different and well worth reading, and one I'm happy to give 4.5 stars.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

The second I saw the title of this book, I had to read it. No book I've ever read has matched a title more than this one.

Adult Virgins Anonymous by Amber Crewe is one of my favorite books I've read this year. A story of adult emotion resonates with Kate Mundy and Freddie Weir.

These characters whom I won't likely forget had comical energy about them that snagged my attention immediately since the first chapter. I wanted to get to know them. And by getting to know them, we note the petty cruelty of society, the awkward yet fleeting desire, sexual competitiveness, and the way they handled the overwhelming loneliness and not belonging.

For the hope of it all, both Kate and Freddie met at a self-help group called Adult Virgins Anonymous, where they encountered different and diverse types of individuals, in a group, they felt more in common with what they were going through.

These two protagonists had so many layers to discover, from Freddie struggling with severe OCD and anxiety and judgemental members of his family, where Kate was struggling with body image and left out by mean girls in her group of friends and struggling financially because of the set back of her high flying job.

In a tangle of destiny, Freddie finds himself where Kate works as an attendant at the Natural History Museum, and their story beyond the group started from there.

I've been raving about this book since I finished it, I could not put it down! It was raw, loving, and straight to the point. Full of hope, so relatable and so thoughtful.

It is hard to not feel good after reading this book, I loved the back and forth conversations of the group, the family dynamic of both characters, the wonderful friendships, and the beautiful awkward moments that got me to roll into intense giggles.

Love, love this book and I'm so happy that I got the chance to read it.

This book was an important read for me, it was very refreshing to read a book that tackled the conversation of what it felt like to be an adult virgin and the shame and confusing feelings that come with it. I felt that the author dealt with the range of characters in a empathetic way and still told a fun love story. Very well written and a fun little read.